


shards of glass

by underscorepidge



Series: homecoming [reincarnation 'verse] [1]
Category: Black Veil Brides, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Dissociation, Dreams and Nightmares, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-02 11:15:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19197640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/underscorepidge/pseuds/underscorepidge
Summary: it's hard to tell where Jason ends and Andy begins, the memories all seem the same.





	shards of glass

**Author's Note:**

> I lived, bitch.
> 
> I apologize for going off the radar again, some stuff came up and I needed to get away from social media for a bit. expect a mass update and upload spree sometime soon.
> 
> hope y'all like angst :~)

some time in the years between adolescence and stardom, Andy begins to remember. a mother and a father, a broken home in a city he couldn't name if he tried.

they're not at all like the parents he has now. they were harsher, raising hands and raising voices well into the early hours. some time ago, he was not Andrew, he was Jason. Jason Peter Todd. a boy with no place to call a proper home.

the dreams come next, almost always with a man who holds a stern yet caring gaze, of noted fortune and name. they had met when Jason, never Andy, stole the tires off his car. he expected for yelling and for a hand to be raised, but none came. what followed after was something out of only the wildest of his dreams. a duo they did make, a bat and a bird, together as one, swinging off into the night. (he would look back on it later, tired and weary, and say it was something straight out of a comic book.)

unfortunately, the nightmares come just as easy, playing back like a broken reel of film, out of order but patched up over time. the cooling sensation of metal on his skin, sharp bursts of pain, going off like fireworks as the metallic tang of blood fills up his lungs, leaving him to choke and gasp and scream himself awake, leaving on the bitter end note of a body leaning over him, just as broken as he, waiting as he draws one last breath, succumbing to eternal sleep. but the pain he feels in those ones make no competition for the neon green dreams. it always hurts, thrashing as he slowly goes under, the momentary quiet as the inferno begins to lick at his feet. his throat is raw by the end of it, an ache that he feels deep in his bones, leaving an empty husk. they trained him, a ruthless animal, blood staining teeth and fur as the carnage continued to unfold. returning to the no-named city, seeing the man who took him in, weary with age and new companion. he's shocked at how bitter his voice was, time and time again. to live fast is to die young.

there are days where he feels mechanical, a faceless anomaly lost in the sea. these days bring a heavy ache upon his body, withered with age and experience despite the clean canvas. bringing his fingers up to the mirror, it's hard to tell one from the other. static noise buzzes in the back of his head, taking over so he's but a puppet on strings, leaving when sharp pain registers and there's bits of broken glass imbedded in his skin, crimson welling up. first came Jason, world-weary, then came the Hood, bitter and angry for all the right and wrong reasons. red was the color of power, anger and pride. he wore the badge with honor.

 

accepting that no one he knew was with him came easy at first, on those nights when he's surrounded by noise and lights and fame, so the dark thoughts go away for a while. then there are the ones where his only companions are the alcohol bottles and moments of panic, adrenaline kicking in without fail, leaving him a delirious soul. Andy is content where Jason is alone for several years, until he's seeing flashes of blue and black and homehomehomehome, arms full of a sobbing man, numb at first, before they're embracing and crying together as one.

because for once in his new life, home is full, and Jason knows that someone he loves is safe.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, come talk to me on tumblr (babydoll-leith) and discord (Pidge V. Flowers#9758)


End file.
